


Jump 28

by Yallsehood



Category: Monster Prom (Visual Novel)
Genre: Angst, Apocalyose, Bickering, Big angst, Blood, Brian (mentioned) - Freeform, Character Death, Crying, Damien didn’t have to be a hero, Death, Drama, Exes, Fighting, Gay, Grief, Heartbreak, Joy pining, Joy pining for Liam, Liam angst, Liam de Lioncourt angst, Liam x Damien, Loss, M/M, Mourning, PRANK MASTERZ, Pining, Profanity, Romance, Spoilers for Monster Camp, Spoilers for Prank Masterz ending, The Coven - Freeform, Verbal Fighting, Violence, War, Weapons, Z’Gord apocalypse, a shit ton of sarcasm, big sad Liam Hours, cliff hanger, losing a loved one, major angst, physical fighting, very little fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-25
Updated: 2020-11-25
Packaged: 2021-03-10 01:21:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,687
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27705470
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Yallsehood/pseuds/Yallsehood
Summary: Polly and Scott conjured the dark deity Z’Gord as some major prank out of good fun, but Joy and Liam know it only causes the end of their universe as they know it. Using his powers to jump timelines, Liam and Joy attempt to save the world over and over again. They love and they lose their friends along the way. In timeline 28 Liam finds hope in his boyfriend, but will he be able to stay with him? Will Joy and Liam ever be able to stop the Prank Masterz from starting an apocalypse?(Read tags for triggers and squicks)
Relationships: Damien LaVey/Liam de Lioncourt
Kudos: 7





	Jump 28

“Are you sure about this?” The twenty-three-year-old witch looked at the vampire as the wind briskly blew through her hair. She was not here to mess around. Joy often took the saving world severely seriously. Her entire job was to be the world’s hero. As risky as this was, this was her only chance to do so. 

Liam’s arm was around Joy’s neck, and he knew if he did not go with her that he would be left behind in this timeline. As long as the vampire had lived, he was not going to give up life this easy. Besides, he was the one that knew where the totem was; without the totem they would never be able to defeat Z’Gord. Unlike Joy, Liam was aware of the fact Polly and Scott would never stop conjuring Z’Gord as some kind of prank book. Idiots. The lot of them… just idiots. For a moment, he looked out at the others. Damien and Miranda were hand in hand in royal regalia with their swords by their sides. Aaravi seemed to have completely disappeared. He couldn’t figure out where Valerie, Vera, and the other coven members were before Joy grabbed his chin and made him look at him.

Despite the fact Liam was decaying in Joy’s arms, he kept up his normal attitude. “I’ll go but only because you need me.” The wind was also running through Liam’s messy hair that had tumbled out of his man bun. “We need to get that totem and stop this, got it? That’s it. No one can know we changed timelines.”   
“Do you do this a lot?”   
“Not really…” Liam sighed and jumped through the portal that would help him and Joy travel through time and space. He didn’t want her to ask him any other questions. Not everyone had the ability to jump through timelines and alternative lives after all. Maybe that was why Liam had lived this long. After all, vampires were extremely well hunted, so maybe this was how Liam saved himself from hunters that were much more brutal than Aaravi was. 

It felt like Joy and Liam’s first jump was decades ago as they jumped into another timeline for the seventeenth time, and it almost felt like centuries by the twenty-seventh jump. Liam looked more bored on average as Joy healed his arm for the twenty-seventh time. They were looking at Spooky High with great amounts of fatigue in their expression. “Nothing’s working.”   
“Really? Shocker.” Liam muttered as he pulled his phone out of his pocket and sighed. They kept jumping back to the same date, but he started wondering if they needed to go back further. Liam went to go put his phone back in his pocket as he glimpsed at himself for a moment. What was he doing in a suit? Black vest, black pants, and his hair was … down? “Joy.” He looked over at her. “Why am I in my coven outfit?”

Joy shrugged as she looked over at Liam. “Maybe this is a timeline where you never stopped being one of us for the better of the coven.” 

“I doubt it.” Liam scoffed, and watched as Joy was a tad irritated as she cast a spell to put Liam back in his normal of maroon jeans, suspenders, a white dress shirt, and a yellow bowtie. “I’m sure I have enough commonsense in every timeline to leave the coven.” Liam put his own hair up as he assessed everything that happened in the last time line. His heart was still aching from leaving Brian behind in the last one. Honestly, they almost didn’t make it out since Brian can’t die, and Joy had to somehow get Liam’s unconscious body from the slow talking zombie. Maybe this time he’ll just avoid Brian. He wasn’t sure he could face them. 

It was true the vampire had outlived many other past lovers before, but this was a whole new level of grief. He had to see the person he was with die, travel to another timeline, and see his lover live a different life without remembering him. It was almost more painful for Joy who was still in love with Liam, and she had to watch him lose so much… She was there by his side and saved him from Z’Gord every time. They were protecting each other. Joy just didn’t want to see Liam’s heartbreak again. 

“We have a plan this time or are we just going?” Liam asked as he looked over at Joy. “I’ve tried reasoning with Polina and Scott.”

“I know. I’ve even offered Polly drugs in exchange for that so-called prank book.” Joy pinched the skin between her eyebrows as she tried to figure out what to do. They were running out of options, and neither of them had found the magical artifact they needed to trap Z’Gord in. The witch had been trusting Liam to find it. “Can you focus on getting the artifact? We need that totem, Liam.”

An exhausted sigh fell from the purple vampire’s lips. Haven’t they already tried that? “Yeah, sure. Are you going to try to buy the book from Valerie again?”

“Probably.” Joy looked over and saw Faith and Hope walking into the school together looking for her. She really did miss her two best friends. She wanted to be able to save the world with them, but she knew she would lose them in every single timeline. She watched Hope die in Faith’s arms twenty-seven times too many… “Liam, I’m going to go. We can meet up later tonight?” She questioned. 

As the sun rose, Liam took out his umbrella and nodded to Joy. He wasn’t ready to go into school yet, and he likely wouldn’t until class. He had no want to run into Brian right now. “Sure. Night. Courtyard…. where there’s usually a rave?”    
“Yup, Party tree at midnight. Stay focused.” Joy said before walking off to act as if she hadn’t been jumping timelines for the past few months with her ex-boyfriend. It seemed Faith and Hope noticed she had been speaking with Liam; the other two members of the coven knew Joy missed Liam. Out of all Joy’s lovers? Liam treated her the best. 

As the witch went inside the school, Liam walked around it instead. He looked at the ground beneath his feet. It was a ground he’d likely see cracking beneath his loafers if he and Joy didn’t get this right again. Three weeks… they had three weeks to do this right. Honestly, Liam was hoping this was a timeline where he did not already have a significant other. Twenty-seven heartbreaks was a lot to go through, and that’s not even counting the heartbreaks Liam experienced before Scott and Polly decided being Prank Masterz with an ancient deity was a wise decision. 

Liam was walking past the gym when someone bumped into him, and nearly knocked him flat on his ass. He looked behind him and saw the wolfpack. Of course those careless neanderthals discarded the non-muscular vampire aside without a second glance. Liam rubbed the back of his neck before his eyes saw the red hand in front of him. Damien. 

“Hey, Lioncourt.” Damien muttered as the vampire took his hand and pulled him to his feet. “What’re you doing outside?” 

Liam shrugged in response at first. He couldn’t exactly tell Damien he just watched him and all of their other classmates die, and that he lost a lover who is still currently alive in this timeline. That’d be insane. “Never seen a vampire take a stroll in the sun, LaVey?”

A subtle smile fell on Damien’s lip as he heard Liam response back. He noticed that Liam looked devastated, and he was worried about the vampire. “Yes, I have. You walk in the fucking sun all the time. Stupid sun… I’m going to punch it in the goddamn face. Someday… that mother fucker ain’t got nothing on this spicy red adult.” 

Honestly, Liam could recall a timeline where Damien almost left to punch the sun on prom night. He was silently wondering if he sent Damien to the sun if he would be able to save his life. Z’Gord wouldn’t be able to get Damien if he went to the sun, right? Damien would be safe there since he’s immune to flames… that would be a backup plan. 

Liam just sighed and looked at Damien, and he hoped this might get under his skin. “You can’t punch the sun.”    
“YES I FUCKING CAN!” Damien growled. He sighed as he tried to take a deep breath. He looked at the path ahead of them. He realized it wasn’t just an extremely strong wind that knocked his twinky vampire lover on his back. “Wait a goddamn second, did the wolfpack knock you over, babe?”

Babe. Uh oh - that was exactly what Liam wasn’t hoping for. Now he really thought sending Damien to the sun was his only option. He couldn’t watch Damien get hurt; he couldn’t lose someone else. Trying to bring himself back down to earth, Liam nodded. “Yeah, but it’s-”

“I’m on it.” Damien took off. When Damien loved someone? Nobody fucked with them. Damien wouldn’t let anyone hurt Liam and get away with it. He was thinking that was maybe why Liam looked so tired and bummed out. Unless, Liam wasn’t sleeping… the demon had no idea how naive he was. He only had three weeks to live if Liam didn’t do something about it, and Liam was experiencing genuine fear of losing him. 

Liam had watched Damien fight Z’Gord tooth and nail twenty-seven times. Sometimes he would call in Hell’s armies and other times he’d believe he was strong enough on his own; unfortunately, Damien would always die some tragic death from being impulsive and reckless. He was always one of the first people to go. 

As Damien ran off to kick some wolfpack ass, Liam swore he would do his best to protect that demon from any harm that would come his way. He checked the time on his phone… school didn’t start for a little while, and he wouldn’t face any major consequences if he didn’t show up. He had lived these three school weeks twenty-seven times, and the lessons rarely ever changed. Liam was going to try to set out to find that totem… he would do whatever it takes to save this timeline so he didn’t have to go jump through another one. If not for Damien, at least for him and Joy who were just so goddamn exhausted from trying to save the world. Even if this universe was damned, Liam was now determined more than ever to save it. 

The first week in this timeline, Liam and Joy tried many things and got nothing done once again. Polly and Scott got their hands on the book; it was only a matter of time before the Prank Masterz made a life changing decision all in the name of pranks. Scott and Polly were never hurt by Z’Gord so Liam was never too worried about their well being. Liam spent most of his daytime either searching for the totem or spending time with Damien. It was starting to worry Joy as she watched Liam fall in love with someone else he was likely going to lose. 

“So you’re looking for some kind of totem, Joy?” Hope asked as they sat at their lunch table alone together. The coven almost always sat alone unless someone came over to bother them. The three of them weren’t extremely popular. “I thought we had a bunch of them.”

“It’s one to hide an ancient deity in. Polly and Scott are going to try and reach Z’Gord to summon it for some huge prank.” Joy sighed. Maybe the world was doomed because Joy didn’t hold that much Joy with anything anymore. Saving the world has become so incredibly ordinary she didn’t find the same excitement anymore. It was certainly hard to find enjoyment. 

After a moment, Faith looked up from her meal. She placed her sunglasses on her forehead and placed her phone to the side for a moment. “Z’Gord sounds familiar, but I don’t think we’ve ever faced it before.”

Well, Faith would be wrong on several accounts, but Joy supposed there was no point in arguing. The coven had never faced Z’Gord as a Big Bad of a season before. Well, Joy was thinking that it might count more as a series finale if she couldn’t figure out how to save the world in time. She desperately wanted to ask Liam how his progress was going, but she looked across the cafeteria to see him taking food pictures. Why was he so good at blending in? He could act completely normal, and no one had any idea what was going on inside his head. Joy was envious… for several reasons. 

Hope followed her friend’s eyes over to the table that had both Liam de Lioncourt and Damien LaVey sitting at it. “Joy, is something going on? You keep going back to Liam.” Hope said simply. She herself wasn’t super fond of Liam, but that is also because Hope didn’t remember her own past lives including when Angelus, Liam’s super villain self, got Hope killed. Faith and Joy both knew the truth though. 

Joy wanted to say no as she sipped on her drink she got with her lunch that day. At the same time, she wanted to scream about the fact she was deeply in love with Liam, and she fell in love with more and more every time they tried to save the world together. Even if she was bored, Liam was the best partner she could’ve asked to work on this with her; she just wished Liam could see how much she missed him. “I don’t know, maybe?”

Faith placed a hand on Joy’s shoulder. “Your love arc ended seasons ago, Joy. Liam is not coming back to us. Not as a Big Bad, nor will he ever return to the coven. No matter how bad the viewers want him? He’s not coming.” 

Of course Faith was right. Liam’s business with the coven was over; he was a completely new vampire now. He kept his life with coven a huge secret because of all the regrets he had while he was involved with them - this included the assassination of Hope. There was no point in waiting for Liam to come back… that didn’t mean Joy didn’t wish he would. At the very least, it would be nice if Liam would open those gorgeous yellow eyes of his and see the beautiful, intelligent witch standing in front of him in all of these timelines. 

Teenage heartbreak was such a pain. Well, Joy was twenty-three, but the heartbreak still hurt nonetheless. She had to remain focused on the task at hand, and she was worried that Liam might be forgetting why they were again. 

What was going on with Liam was quite the opposite of what Joy had in mind. Liam just wanted to enjoy this life while he could. After all, if this was the life he had to live from now on he didn’t want to be a terrible boyfriend to Damien while trying to save the world. If the world was going to be safe in this timeline, Liam wanted to be able to relax with his devilish boyfriend after it was all over. He looked over at Damien as he sat down at the table without food. Liam usually let his boyfriend eat his lunch after he was done taking pictures of it. “Have fun fisting the vending machine?”

“It stole my money.” Damien crossed his arms as he kicked his feet up on the table. He saw the look he got from Liam that warned him if he didn’t get his dirty shoes off the table they would end up in his instagram post. Reluctantly, Damien moved his feet off of the table. “Ya know I've been meaning to ask you something.”

Liam was focused on taking his picture, and he slightly stuck out his tongue as he did so. “Hmm..” He said simply. Liam focused on his photos a lot when it came to taking them. Every time he jumped timelines he lost some very valuable photos to his instagram. He wouldn’t ever get some of those beauties back. 

Despite not being very patient, Damien was doing his best not to bother Liam while he took a picture of the meal in front of him. He let a flame dance in between his fingers. He was sure Liam wouldn’t take too long while trying to get the perfect shot. It seemed the vampire had perfect timing because he slid the plate over just as Damien stomach growled. “Holy shit, Lioncourt. This looks good.”

Liam looked over at Damien. “Hun, it is just a salad.” 

“Yeah draculoser, I know, but I’ve never seen a salad look so damn appetizing before.”

Liam looked over at the salad for a moment, and a small smile appeared on his face as he realized there was hot sauce on the salad. Things like that are a little difficult to see behind the filters he used. “It’s spicy, dear. No wonder you’d like it.” Liam commented. He finished up the last touches on his instagram posts. He was about to scroll through his feed for a bit, but he saw Damein hadn’t started eating yet. Damien’s tail was even sticking up; Liam knew that meant Damien was up to something. He let out a sigh and looked over at the demon. “Is your question really that important?”

Slowly, Hell’s prince nodded at the timeline traveling vampire. He just wanted to make sure he had his lover’s attention. “I thought about doing some grand gesture, but I figured you would like something like this much fucking better. So uh… I was wondering if you’d consider going to Spooky High’s prom with me.” Damien paused as he saw the concerned expression on Liam’s face. “I know you probably think it’s really fucking meta of me, and I know how much you despie mainstream and all that shit… I just didn’t think you’d want me making a huge deal out of anniversary either so I just-”   
“Damien.” Liam stopped him by resting a hand on his forearm. “Just give me a second to process. I forgot you ramble when you’re nervous.” Liam explained as he sighed softly. He was trying to understand what was going on here. His and Damien’s anniversary was the night of the apocalypse was supposed to happen if Polly and Scott couldn’t be stopped. Liam swallowed as he thought of the horrific event… he wanted to go to prom with Damien. In his original timeline he was with Damien, and he always told Damien no. These past twenty-seven lives were making Liam want to say yes. It would only work out if he could prevent the Prank Masterz. Liam didn’t want to lose his prince again. 

The nervous look on Damien’s face only fueled Liam’s nerves, but the vampire was nervous about something Damien didn’t know about. Liam nodded. “It’s not necessarily my thing because it’s a school dance… but I’d love to go with you.”

Damien’s eyes lit up as he pulled Liam into a kiss. It was never a hug, was it? He’d always kiss Liam when he was happy. Well, he’d kiss Liam when he was feeling a lot of things, but he was so happy right now. “I didn’t fucking expect that! Hot damn, you might be more metal than me.”

“No one’s more metal than you, Damien.”

“Damn, right!” Damien hummed as he rested his forehead against Liam and kept his arms wrapped around him for a moment. “I promise I’ll try to make it a good anniversary for you. Oh, shit! That reminds me.” Damien took a beverage out of his pocket that looked a little like a juicebox. He handed it to Liam. “It’s blood.”

“I thought the vending machine was out.” Liam took it in his hand. “Thanks, LaVey.” Liam muttered as he looked at him. Liam couldn’t recall Damien being so charming before, but he wasn’t complaining. Besides, everything felt so mixed up in his mind. How was someone supposed to think clearly when they’ve lived this week of their life over and over again. As Liam shifted so he could let Damien eat his spicy salad, he looked over and saw Brian. There were reminders of his past lives everywhere, weren’t there?

The deep voiced zombie waved to Liam, and Liam waved back as he felt himself grow colder than normal again. Part of him wanted to go talk to Brian, but Liam knew that would be a mess. His reputation would be wrecked. The vampire swallowed, and felt Damien grab his hand. Liam looked over at Damien and saw the worried look on his face. “Damien, I’m-”

“You’re crying...?”   
“I’m what?” Liam asked as he pressed his thumb under his eye to catch the hot tears that were pouring down his face. This was out of the ordinary. This was not one of the two,  _ maybe _ three, emotions he let other people see he had. Liam had to get out of here. He got up and walked to the bathroom in order to save his reputation. He caught Joy’s eyes on his way out, and he only hoped she wouldn’t follow him. He didn’t want to see anyone right now. He needed some time only. He didn’t want to doom anyone to a terrible fate no matter how condescending he acted. Liam cared about his friends and he cared about his lover… about Damien. He pushed everyone away in an attempt of saving himself, but it seemed that he was the only one hurting now no matter how hard he tried. He was just going to lose everyone again, wasn’t he? Valerie didn’t have the totem. Liam couldn’t find it. It was over already, wasn’t it?

While Liam sat beneath a sink to hide in the shadows, someone entered Spooky High’s unisex bathroom. It was his demon boyfriend, so Liam wasn’t too worried about someone bad finding him. Liam sniffled as he just stayed where he was. He saw Damien sit down across from him after locking the door. “What?” He said with some venom in his voice.   
Damien scoffed, “Lioncourt, what do you mean what? You’ve been acting off all week. What the Hell happened to you?” He asked as he kept his eyes on Liam to see if he was upset with him. Damien gently extended his hand to Liam; as soon as Liam took it, Damien brought Liam into his embrace. He leaned against the wall as he was sitting with the vampire in his lap. 

There was really no point in lying to Damien. Liam knew he couldn’t tell Damien that the world was totally doomed because Scott and Polly were going to summon an elder god named Z’Gord. Damien might think it’s metal or something… and he and Joy already agreed their mission had to remain a secret. Liam just decided to tell a lie of omission, so he was somewhat telling Damien some truthful words. “Recently one of my past lovers died…” Liam closed his eyes and leaned his head against Damien’s chest. He could hear his heartbeat. He was alive and okay right now. 

Damien was silent as he gently ran a few of his red fingers through Liam’s gorgeous hair. He pressed a gentle kiss to Liam’s forehead in an attempt to calm Liam down. He knew Liam had a lot of pain with past lovers, and he had seen Liam go through this before. “Do you want space, Liam?”   
“No.” Liam said softly. If he was going to lose Damien, he was going to spend this moment letting the demon know he loved him. He would not let Damien die questioning if Liam loved him or not. The vampire was going to make sure Damien did feel appreciated. “Can we skip today?” He looked up at Damien who just softly chuckled at him. Of course the demon was down for skipping. 

“Do you need anything, Lioncourt?” Damien asked. He had pretty much used Liam’s last name as a pet name, and he didn’t see anyone else using it. He just saw Liam shake his head, and Damien leaned back again. “Alright, we’ll stay right here. I’m not going anywhere…”

That day the two of them spent time with one another, and Liam did his best to regain his composure. He just wasn’t so sure he had what it took to save the world - he wasn’t a coven member anymore. That past was far behind him. He just hoped this timeline was something he could keep in his life. Those chances were slim. Liam was opening up his heart, and he was likely going to get his heart broken again. It was his own fault… but maybe Liam had some hope this time they could really save the world this time. 

The week went on to be a complete disaster. Joy watched Polly and Scott prank other students, and she began to completely disregard her schoolwork. She was worrying both Hope and Faith who knew this was not what their friend usually acted like. Joy wanted to restore what she couldn’t before despite her aching heart. If she could save Liam from heartbreak, then maybe she would feel better about things. She just needed to do her job, right? She was usually so good at doing it. Right now she was trying to make her way through the hallways that were full of lava. The only students immune to the magma were Damien and Dahlia. Hell’s two most prized demon’s were blissfully unaware of what was to come… everyone was. 

Joy was using a shield she conjured up and was almost snowboarding through the lava. She saw Polly and Scott head towards the gym. Joy didn’t even answer Faith and Hope as they called out for her. Getting to Polly and Scott was a do or die situation. As she arrived in the gym she heard Polly say the same thing she always said just before Z’Gord was summoned….”

“We can’t have blue prank ballz, Scott! With a Z!” She sighed as she flipped through the book with the purple flesh cover. “We have to be able to do something.”

Scott shrugged as he attempted to read the book in front of him. Joy knew that book was likely in a language those two didn’t even know how to read, but also occurred to the main coven member she was unsure if Scott could even read. Either way, she tried to send a blast of magic Polly’s way to knock the book out of her hands - which Joy didn’t even understand how Polly was holding anyway. How do ghosts even work? Anyhow, the blast of magic knocked Z’Gord’s book out of Polly’s hands. 

Perplexed, the blue ghost looked up. She didn’t see Joy though because Scott gasped and eagerly wagged his tail. He picked up the book and showed it to Polly. “Polly! Is this it?” He asked. 

Polly smirked and nodded. “Yes! Boo, you are absolutely incredible. Prank Masterz shall win again! We just need to ask for help from that… weird blue prince guy!” Polly said, and almost immediately the Inter Dimensional Prince had appeared to help them with the portal. Instead of stopping them Joy helped them. Z’Gord’s apocalypse was coming once again. 

Quickly, Joy raced across Spooky High’s campus to the auditorium. Liam was always in the auditorium day of prom, and she had no reason to believe that things would be any different. When she got to the auditorium the place was mostly empty. She took a deep breath and sighed. “Liam?” She called. 

The vampire came out from backstage in Damien’s jacket. Yes, it was super mainstream of him, but Damien’s warmth was with him now. He’d been acting more and more sappy the more timelines they jumped, so Joy wasn’t even phased by it. There was also a red lipstick stain on his cheek from Damien - the Hell prince wore makeup, okay? It just wasn’t obvious. “Did you do it?” Liam asked. There was no evidence of hope in Liam’s voice, but he wanted Joy to say yes. He wanted her to tell him she had the book in her hands and they could finally go and live a normal life. “Did you find Scott and Polina?” They had been at this for a little over a year now, and Liam was more exhausted than he ever had been in his four-hundred years of living. 

Somberly, Joy hung her head. “Liam, I… I failed again.” She didn’t even want to look at Liam as she said this. The two of them were both to blame. Joy just didn’t want to see the way Liam’s face fell as he watched his lover die. “We have to try again.”

Liam’s brain was immediately set back. No, no, not again. He was not going through this bullshit all over again. He swallowed. “Maybe we can fight Z’Gord…”   
“Are you insane?”   
“Are you not?” Liam snapped at her. “Z’Gord feeds on insanity, and dammit maybe it knows we are doing this! Maybe it can remember all this madness and see across the timelines.” Liam sighed and hugged himself in Damien’s jacket. He couldn’t let go of another love. He wanted to be able to take Damien with them. He knew only he was really supposed to jump timelines; taking Joy was a huge risk on its own. Still, could he really leave another lovestory behind? It was his and Damien’s anniversary! Why couldn’t things go right just this once? 

Could the deity really be screwing with them beyond the timelines they had abandoned? Joy wasn’t so sure, but she was sure of the fact she wouldn’t be able to change Liam’s mind about wanting to fight Z’Gord again. “Fine, but as soon as one of us gets hurt or everyone dies? We have to go, Liam - especially if it’s Hope. You know the world dies if Hope does.”

Feeling a little guilty, Liam just nodded. He just wanted to buy himself a little bit more time with his boyfriend. He missed Damien so much, and he was longing to just settle down with him. Liam… well, he honestly wanted a chance to say goodbye to his prince. He didn’t know when he’d get a chance to be with him again. Liam took a deep breath as he heard the chaotic storm of Z’Gord brewing outside. “Thank you, Joy.” He sighed. He knew this was going to be hard, but something had to be done. He couldn’t let go that easily. 

Knowing that this was the end, the two of them headed into the storm as the sky began to bleed. Joy went to join the other members of the coven in an attempt to defend this realm from Z’Gord’s attack, and Liam went the opposite direction and ran into Damien. He looked up at the other male and saw him. “Damien, I-”

“The sky is fucking bleeding, Liam! Do you see this shit?! It’s so fucking metal. I feel like the sky is challenging me.”

“Yes, darling. That is lovely, but-”

“I should probably challenge the sky. That fuckhammer won’t know what hit ‘em! I bet that son of a bitch is allying with the sun.”   
“DAMIEN LAVEY!” Liam shouted to get his boyfriend’s full attention. He was not going to let Damien’s stubbornness and need to be the most badass person to ever exist get in the way of this. The distraught vampire almost adopted Damien’s anger as the demon was not listening to him. He didn’t know how to say these next words without breaking anyways. Instead, he decided to take a page from Damien’s book. He pulled Damien down by the collar of his white v-neck into a kiss. 

It was unexpected, but Damien leaned down to kiss Liam as the blood poured down from the sky. This was goodbye, and the prince wasn’t even aware of it. Liam just enjoyed the bittersweet while he could. He was not going to break down in front of him. “I love you so much, my prince.” Liam said quietly. He then pulled away and assumed his normal attitude. “And for the record? The sky is  _ not _ challenging you, Damien.” He explained to him. “Polina and Scott might’ve called the eldritch deity Z’Gord and we are…”

“Fucked?” Damien questioned as he finished Liam’s sentence for him despite knowing how much Liam hated when he did that. He knew whoever, or whatever, Z’Gord couldn’t be a good thing just based on how serious Liam looked. It wasn’t the cute kind of serious when he talked about something that showed his dorky side, but this looked like the time Liam tried to do a school project with him. Damien’s work ethic was nothing amazing. 

Before Damien or Liam could say another word, a certain princess ran by both of them screaming at the top of her gills… her lungs? If Miranda was so against airpeople, how  _ was _ she breathing air? Well, these questions should probably be saved for when the world wasn’t about to be torn apart. “These barbaric peasants! I am getting my daddy on the phone right now.” Miranda said. She looked over at Damien. “What are you waiting for Damien? You are royalty! Get your armies!”   
Damien cocked a brow as he looked down at Liam. “Looks like some freak bitch of a deity is crashing our anniversary. How serious is this?”

“Extremely.”

“Hell’s armies it is then.” Damien muttered. He kissed Liam’s cheek as he pulled a sword out. Where was Damien even keeping that? It wouldn’t be much of a surprise if the demon was always armed and ready for a battle. After all, Damien did pick fights a lot. “You should go somewhere safe.”

Liam adjusted his glasses and just gave a nod; he was sure Damien was aware of the fact he was stronger than him. He just gave Damien one last look before going to do what he always did when Z’Gord attacked. “I love you, Damien.”

“I love you too.” Damien smirked, but there was more than just that smug look on his face. There was the faint sense of some genuine happiness in Damien’s facial expression that made his true love for Liam shine through. How cheesy…

It wasn’t long before every student at Spooky High was doing everything they could to stop Z’Gord’s attacks while Polly and Scott partied. The Prank Masterz were completely oblivious to the disaster they had created. It was a calamity both Joy and Liam were sick of seeing over and over again. It wasn’t long before the first student dropped. It was actually Vera this time, and that definitely shocked Liam. He definitely thought Vera was a lot stronger than that. He looked over at Joy who just nodded towards him. As quick as he could, Liam found a safe place where he could start working on how to get them out of his timeline. If he were religious, he would have started praying the twenty-ninth timeline would be the perfect one. He wasn’t sure how much of this he could take before he truly fell apart. These universes of people dying were something Liam would never be able to shake, and life just started feeling like a never ending nightmare. How long would it take for him to wake up? 

Joy was trusting her ex-boyfriend to open that portal as she shot green orbs of magic at Z’Gord’s tentacles surrounding her and her two best friends. Joy looked over her shoulder at Faith who just nodded at her. “Get her out of here.” Joy said in a booming voice as sounds of banshee like screams filled the air.    
Once Joy placed an opening for Faith and Hope to run through, Joy followed slowly after. She turned around and didn’t even see Faith and Hope. She was hoping the two of them were hiding somewhere safe. There was no way to tell with all of the chaos going on around here. Damien’s anime-like screaming, Miranda’s orders going out to her army and serfs, Vera’s gasps of disbelief at her wounds, and Dahlia’s war cries. There was so much going on in one place. Joy wondered why Spooky High had become such a bloody battlefield just for the sake of some sick and twisted prank. Could Polly and Scott not see how everyone was hurting? They were partying together as the apocalypse took over this universe. They were roasting marshmallows while everyone was close to death. It was sick the way everything was sinking into doom quicker than the Titanic into the ocean. 

It wouldn’t take long for Liam to open the portal, and he had the spell all ready, but he wouldn’t be able to keep it open for long. He ran his way back into danger doing what he could to defend the friends he longed to protect more than anything. He had to do something if he could, but Liam logically understood there was no easy way to defeat Z’Gord. That was when he heard the last thing he wanted to: Damien being a hero. 

“MIRI!” Damien shouted to his careless childhood best friend. He ran in front of her in hopes of saving the oblivious merprincess. Damien always had to protect those he loved, didn’t he? Z’Gord had promptly wrapped a tentacle around Damien’s center before using some of its ancient deity to suck the sanity and life out of Damien. In an instant, Damien’s eyes lost that furious fire behind them, and his limp body fell to the ground.   
“Damien…” Liam whispered to himself. He could feel his heart shatter as Damien’s body hit the body with a dull thud. Liam swore he had witnessed it in slow motion as blood continued to pour down from the sky and there were sounds of confusion and chaos all around them. Liam didn’t hear it. There was nothing but a painful silence ringing his ears as he looked at his boyfriend. Another one lost…    
For some reason, Liam’s heart seemed to splinter more than it ever had before. His heart was tired and so was his body. Liam couldn’t keep on fighting like this; there were only so many times he could keep attempting to save the world… he couldn’t watch this happen again. He gave his everything to Damien these past few weeks, along with this mission with Joy, but he was still losing everything. Liam lost the man he loved more than he had loved anyone else. There was a passion he always felt when he was with Damien that was unlike any other. He felt colder without it… without him.

After a few more moments, Liam went to run over to Damien to hold the demon’s dead body close before he left; however, Joy quickly caught Liam’s wrist in her hand since Liam never worked on his reflexes or athleticism as a protest against sport. Angrily, Liam over his shoulder at Joy. He rolled his eyes as he pulled his wrist out of her hand and ran over to where Damien LaVey was lying dead on the ground. As soon as Liam got Damien into his arm he started begging Damien not to be dead. He was pleading for Damien to just wake back up. 

As the wind swirling around her got more intense, Joy did her best to swallow her own pain as she watched Liam go into denial about Z’Gord killing Damien. He wanted it to be some sort of sick joke, but Joy knew this was the real deal. Although she was extremely annoyed, she cast a shield around Liam and Damien so the vampire could have his moment with the man he loved so very much. 

Shakily, Liam cupped one of Damien’s cheeks in his hand as tears began to pour down his face. He was sure he looked awful right now, but he knew Joy wouldn’t tell anyone about this just to ruin his reputation. Not to mention, there was no one these two could talk to about jumping timelines, so Liam wasn’t worried about his reputation right now. He just looked down at Damien with great pains rolling through his body. The aches he felt were almost physical as he held the demon in his arms. There was no heat in Damien’s body anymore, and Liam despised that. He was often like a walking space heater, and now he was lifeless and cold because he and Joy couldn’t do their job. 

“Damien, please…” Liam’s words came out shaky and weak. “I can’t do this again, Damien. Tell me this is some kind of joke and I’ll wake up from this goddamn nightmare.” Liam wiped his own tears away as he continued to cry over Damien’s body. Liam was positive even torture in Hell was nowhere near this bad. He then wondered if Z’Gord could even reach Hell, and if Damien were there instead if he would have lived. He then wondered how Damien’s dads would react to this situation. “Come on… the world needs Prince LaVey. I  _ need _ you, Damien.” Liam was always determined to say he didn’t want or need anyone, but for some reason Damien always could always tear down those defenses.

The process of this was absolutely vile. When Liam loved someone he felt as if he gave that person a part of him, and the more he goes on in these timelines the more who was losing who he truly was. He tried to calm himself down, but he just wanted Damien to wake up. Slowly, he removed Damien’s jacket from his shoulders and wrapped him in it instead. It always kept him warm; perhaps he could somehow return the favor to his now dead lover.

There was something so terrible about the way Liam was crying that day was unlike any of the other times, and Joy could hear it. The vampire was having some sort of meltdown, and they didn’t have time for this. Joy saw Faith and Hope across from where she was standing by Liam to protect him. “Liam, we need to go.” She said to him. “Mostly everyone is dead, and Hope is near death herself. It’s time-”   
“No.” Liam looked up at her from where he was sitting on the ground. “I’m not going again.” He sniffled. He hugged Damien close to him as he trembled. He couldn’t do this anymore. The hardest part of being immortal was watching those he loved die, but he couldn’t keep watching this horrific event on repeat.

“Excuse me?”   
“You heard me, Joy.” Liam said. “I’m not going with you. I am done with this process. Just… just go on without me.”   
Joy was going to ask Liam if he was insane again, but she knew the answer to that question. He was just hurt beyond recovery now; despite having knowledge on a plethora of spells, Joy didn’t know what she could do to mend Liam’s broken heart. She loved him more than anyone she had ever loved, so her heart was breaking right along with his, but she knew better than to say something like that to him. “You realize if I leave you here you just walk a broken world, Liam? Z’Gord will eventually find a way to kill you. You’ll still be in the next timeline, but I’ll have to beg for your help.”   
Normally, something like that might actually make Liam help. Joy begging him for help? He would’ve loved to see something like that. Right now, he just shook his head. He seemed to have lost his self-control. Liam didn’t want to move, but Joy went over to him after she took down the shield from around Liam and his hellish lover. She pulled Liam off of Damien, and he was quick to push himself off of her. “Joy. I said no!”

Irritated beyond belief, Joy pinched the bridge of her nose between her right thumb and pointer finger. “I don’t care if you said no, Liam.”   
“I am not doing this Joy!” Liam shouted at her as more tears started to pour down his face. He stood up and walked over to her, but he was trembling beyond relief. He was scared, and he didn’t want to do this anymore. “I watch this happen over, and over, and over again! I am done with this. I am not leaving our friends behind! I am not watching another love die!”    
Joy and Liam were never the two people at Spooky High would expect to get into any sort of screaming match, but things started to get really intense. Liam was just getting more and more hysterical. All the grief had to build up at one point, didn’t it? Liam was just overflowing with emotions he never meant to express, and Joy was angry at him for it because of her own heartbreak.   
“Liam, we need you to save the world.”   
“Who’s we? You and your precious audience?” Liam snapped at her as he cleaned off his glasses. He saw the offended look on his ex’s face and just rolled his eyes. “Please! Joy, do you think someone is watching this shit show? It has been over a year! We can’t keep doing this over and over. The world is damned.”   
Joy shook her head, “No, Liam. I’m not giving up on the world.”   
“Well, maybe it gave up on you!” Liam shouted. He was not going through another timeline jump easily. He knew there had to be a way to stop Polina and Scott, but they hadn’t found a way to prevent it yet. “Joy, aren’t you tired of seeing our friends die on a constant loop?”

“Are you just butthurt over one little prince?”

“Oh, shut it.” Liam scowled at her. He was starting to sound like his real self again instead of some mopey vampire who had his heart broken too many times. He wiped away the rest of his tears with his wrist. “You’re hurt too and you know it. Joy, you don’t want to do this again either. Put down your crown and stop trying to be a hero. We’re done.”   
It couldn’t end like this, could it? It was clear that Hope’s presence was fading just how Liam was acting, right? Joy wasn’t going to give up this easily. “We’re not close to being done! Listen, I think if I tell Faith and Hope they might be able to find that totem.”

It sounded like a good theory, but Liam was wondering how dangerous it would be to get the rest of the coven involved. He swore he knew where that totem was, but he had yet to find it himself; having four people looking for it might help. “That’s still no guarantee this won’t happen again.” Liam said. “I’m not going, Joy. We are done. Z’Gord wins! It is twenty-eight Z’Gord and us zero.”

“Hurting your reputation as a hero, huh?”   
Again, Liam ended up rolling his eyes as he crossed his arms. “You know I’m no hero….” He mumbled. Being alive for so long meant Liam had quite a lot of history behind him, and that history included the time he was a villain. He did terrible things… Liam then looked over at Damien. Perhaps there was just too much villain inside Liam to save anyone. Still, that didn’t mean he couldn’t change that. Joy wasn’t going to give up her point; this was Joy’s entire job after all. It’s better than spending an entirety under Z’Gord’s torment… “I’ll go.”

Joy was so happy she could kiss Liam. Well, she honestly had a lot of reasons she wanted to kiss Liam, but this was not the time nor place. She still could not deny there was something very attractive about Liam trying to save the world with her. It might even be better than when he was Angelus. “I’m glad you came to your senses.” Joy said, not showing her true excitement or feelings for the other. “Are you ready?”

“One more moment, please.” Liam explained. “I promise I will come.” He said calmly as he sat next to Damien. He just needed a moment to fully say goodbye and collect himself. Joy stepped aside to give Liam a moment, but she was hiding since Z’Gord could easily hurt her if she was off her guard. Right now? She was. All she could think about was how Liam was hurting. 

Liam swallowed as he gently ran a hand through Damien’s gorgeous locks and took a deep breath. “I know this is mainstream and dorky, but I need to get this out so I can actually save you for once… the world for once.” Liam slightly shook his head as he shifted so he was on his knees. “I’m no hero, Damien. I’m sure you heard me say that, but I really want to be one for you. You are bold and daring, and I’m nothing like you. Your impulsiveness is what killed you in this timeline, but I’ll tell you it is like that in every life… I was wondering with your muscles and my brain if we could do this together.” Liam sighed. 

There was something inside of the vampire that felt completely hollow. If he had been given pieces of his heart away every time he loved someone, there would soon be nothing left. Damien had so many pieces of his heart, and he had no memory of it either. “I’ll figure this out, Damien. I’ll make you proud and you can live your full life… I miss you, but I promise I am doing what I can so we can go back to the way things used to be.”

“He’s not the same Damien, you know that, right?”

“JOY!” Liam shouted, not wanting his moment to be ruined right now. He knew this Damien was different from other timelines; however, most of the memories Damien held in each timeline were relatively the same. Liam would be with Damien again if he continued on this mission, he was sure of that, but he was still scared of losing him all over again. Liam ended up pressing a gentle kiss on Damien's forehead. He threw the spell to open the portal and heard it open behind him. “Happy anniversary…” Liam whispered softly to him. It might not be ideal, but perhaps Liam’s gift to Damien could actually be saving the world. 

Liam looked over at Joy who had her hand extended to him. The ache in his heart was begging him to say no, but he knew Joy needed him and so did the world. He was no hero, and he certainly wasn’t a Coven member. Liam was still going to do his best to be a good guy. Not everyone would jump through timelines just to save the world, right? Totally meta. 

The two of them both took deep breath as they tried to leave behind the emotions that were going to make things complicated. Liam and Joy had to learn to push on and work together. They gave each other a silent nod as they went off on their adventure. Joy and Liam would continue their mission to save the world from the foolish Prank Masterz and the evil lord Z’Gord until they succeed. Soon enough they had landed in the new timeline trying to figure out how to fix everything. They had a feeling they could win this time… or could they? The vampire and the witch could be doing this for a long while. The only question was how long would this go on for, and will Z’Gord ever best them before they escape? 

**Author's Note:**

> Hello guys! This fic is actually based off of a story Joy tells during an event in Monster Prom 2: Monster Camp. I thought it was the perfect opportunity for some angst. Feel free to let me know what you thought!


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